Integrated optical circuit

Abstract

An integrated optical circuit is described. The optical circuit includes a silicon substrate and waveguides disposed thereon, at least one photonic crystal is provided as a waveguide.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. An integrated optical circuit, comprising: 
       a silicon substrate; and  
       waveguides disposed on the substrate, at least one of the waveguides including a photonic crystal, the photonic crystal including elements formed by one of needles and bore holes, the elements being arranged an angle with respect to an optical axis and being arranged in parallel with one another.  
     
     
       2. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  1 , wherein the waveguides include strip waveguides, the integrated optical circuit further comprising: 
       an insulating layer disposed between the strip waveguides and the silicon substrate, the photonic crystal extending from a plane below a lower boundary surface of the strip waveguides to beyond an upper boundary surface of the strip waveguides.  
     
     
       3. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  1 , wherein the elements are formed by needles having high dielectric constants, the needles being arranged in a two-dimensional periodic lattice. 
     
     
       4. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  1 , wherein the elements are formed by holes having low dielectric constants, the holes being arranged in a two-dimensional periodic lattice. 
     
     
       5. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  3 , wherein the needles stand on the insulating layer, the insulating layer being less thick in a region of the photonic crystal than a region under the strip waveguides. 
     
     
       6. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  3 , wherein the needles stand on the silicon substrate. 
     
     
       7. The integrated optical circuit according to claim  3 , wherein spaces between the needles are filled with non-linearly optical material, a refractive index of the non-linearly optical material being adjustable by a voltage applied to field electrodes. 
     
     
       8. The integrated optical surface according to claim  1 , wherein the photonic crystal includes imperfections, the photonic crystal being a branch filter as a result of an arrangement of the imperfections, branched-off light of a selected wavelength range emerging laterally from the branch filter. 
     
     
       9. The integrated optical surface according to claim  1 , wherein laterally emerging light of different wavelength ranges is focused on different locations of a parallel extending photonic crystal.